I am just getting into some really nice repeatable fixturing and I find myself needing a torque wrench. The fasteners need to be set to roughly the same torque values to ensure repeatability so it’s about time I bit the bullet.
Does anyone have any recommendations? I would need at least 1lb-ft most 20ft pounds I think. Though something like a variable 1-10 and a separate 15+ or so for the higher range would be fine. The small fasteners are likely more important in the grand scheme.
Ideally this could be used for hex heads as well as an ER collet but that might be asking too much
Let me know what you think and if this is completely unrealistic feel free to let me know that as well
(Help me @SLCJedi you’re my only hope)
That seems to be the ticket, searing by inch pounds is yielding much more promising results
Oh look, Snap-On has some 12-240in/lb wrenches. That’s just perfect!
Now I just need to find something ~remotely equivalent that does not cost…$600+
(In fairness to myself, I did say I was ready to “bite the bullet” but I’m not quite ready to bite the rocket )
If you’re fixturing, then you’re probably in torque screwdriver range.
I use a torque driver for tightening up carbide inserts on machinery and fixturing, M5 bolts are 5-10 Nm, an M5 torx / hex head for a carbide insert or fixturing is commonly 4-5 Nm (1 lb ft is 1.35 newton meters).
I have one of these
which is great for small stuff
There is also this
which does a nice job of the slightly higher ranges, before a full torque wrench becomes useful.
For the many carbide inserts on my jointer / thicknesser which are M5 Torx 20 I have this
Which is nice to use whilst holding the cutter drum from rotating with the other hand.
These are not the cheapest tools on the planet, but they are decent quality, and they’re still cheaper than Snap On.
Wera also does many of these in lb-ft versions and the torque drivers will take any 1/4" hex bit so inch based bolts can be accomodated if necessary.
Consistency is good but no need to overthink it too much. I did several studies and MPGs on some tight tolerance parts when I was at Boeing. Most parts we did were +/- 0.010", but a few were 0.005" positional. That means you couldn’t be off more than 0.0015" in any dimension unless the others were nominal. That part required a torque value on the vise to keep those tolerances. But if you have fixtures and are bolting down, the need decreases compared to vises. I would just get an in/lbs Gearwrench and call it a day.
What are your tolerances and what metrology tools do you have?
I’ll report back when I make purchase, appreciate all the advice and recs
@SLCJedi I knew you would ask what tolerances and metrology I have…to that I say, vibes
I have no real tolerances to speak of and I probably cannot effectively measure the diff anyway BUT even without all that I can work to improve my repeatability and reliability
(I’m working on gathering the metrology tools for what I’m trying to do but for now, simply dialing in by trial and error while ensuring everything I can to facilitate repeatability is good enough)
I pinged you explicitly because:
I knew you would have some solid wisdom to share
I wanted to reference Leia’s message in A New Hope
For a solid start to some good metrology, I suggest the Fowler brand. I recently saw a comparison and they are on-par with Mitutoyo in most metrics, usually for half the price. Get a 6" caliper and some good 123 blocks and you have a solid start for home use.
And Gearwrench is a great middle ground too. I tend to favor bang-for-the-buck over top of the line.
So I fibbed a bit. I’ve got a Fowler height comparator, a granite master square, a 6” mitutoyo vernier caliper, a 24” mitutoyo height gauge, a 2um mitutoyo dti (breathing on this damned thing moves it ), a slew of granite surface plates and…some other stuff.
I can measure flat and parallel all day long, the problem I’m facing now comes from measuring holes
It’s good to hear that Fowler is perceived well by folks in the know. I’ll rank them higher in my purchasing decisions for sure.
Gearwrench will make the cut if/when I need things fast, I’ve seen em around but not heard much about them.
If you’ve got any recs on hole metrology I’m all ears. They are genuinely a new beast to me and it seems pretty easy to fall into the trap of over buying when it comes to small diameter holes specifically. (Most everything I do is sub 6mm, with the vast majority being sub 2mm diameter)
I used to use a torque wrench to install Sun SPARC CPUs on computers. I still have the torque wrench and looked up the supplier. Check out this page and call them to check price. They sell various models for different ranges. They did not list prices but have a lot of precision torque wrenches of different types.
I’m thinking this set to cover the lower end of the holes I make and piecemeal for the larger holes. Maybe some go/no-go for the most common hole sizes.
Gotta love McMaster-Carr
I realize we are now thoroughly removed from the torque wrench title…I hijacked my own thead
Still, I’ll also update on
Basically these have a small split ball on the end that expands as you turn a screw. Put in hole expand to just clear pull out and measure with calipers
Ended up getting the small 0.2mm - 1.28mm set for my tiny hole measurements and I’ll get the rest piece meal as necessary.
These were a fine price at ~$100 for the set and the black oxide finish to detect wear is a nice touch.
Good news, my 1mm medical drill bits from precise bits make a mighty fine hole. Even with a fairly high diameter to depth ratio in brass
Surprisingly, 1mm x12mm precision stainless steel pins are relatively cheap from McMaster.
The pins have a sliding fit on the holes with almost imperceptible play (it’s barely there if you really try to feel for it)
This is super promising for some small kinetic pieces I’ve got in the works.
I never thought I’d want higher accuracy than 0.02mm but I might get some ad-hoc in between measurements for either side of 1mm. Just to really dial in the fits I’m going for.
And PreciseBits make some undersized drills I need to try.
0.98mm might be just the ticket
)
), a slew of granite surface plates and…some other stuff.
